February 2017

All of our daily actions make up who we are and how we navigate through life. Every habit, good and bad, counts toward how we live our life. Personal growth, learning, and being intentional every single day is so important to living a purposeful and fulfilled life. If we spend most of our time fussing about every little setback and aimlessly reacting to what happens to us in life, rather than paying attention and being mindful of how we are spending our time and how we respond in certain situations, then we are not going to feel as happy or fulfilled at the end of the day.

So here are some fussy habits that I think we should all break now in order to live a more intentional and fulfilled, fuss-free life:

Stop obsessive thinking Constantly replaying and obsessing over negative situations is such a toxic habit to have. It rarely leads to new insights or solutions on how to handle certain problems. Instead of constantly obsessing over the negative, we should throw away the negative thought or situation and reflect on how we could handle it differently in the future. Focusing on the positive and identifying the source of your anxiety regarding the situation will also help.

Stop letting minor details or setbacks upset you We can’t control everything that happens to us in life. But what we can control is how we react to certain situations. Practicing mindfulness everyday is essential in how we react. Focusing on the here and now can help us focus on the task or situation at hand.

Stop worrying This is something I struggle with in my journey to being un-fussy. And let’s face it, worrying gets us absolutely nowhere. Worrying and obsessing sometimes can go hand it hand. Constantly replaying things and worrying about everything comes with the territory of being an adult and a mom. When we get a moment to actually think during the day, it’s like worry and obsessing on overload. Something that I have tried to help manage these worries is having a “worry break.” When I get a moment or start getting overwhelmed I try to actually physically write down everything that is on my mind…once it’s written down I can then figure out what can get done now and what can’t get resolved until later and it puts my mind at ease.

Stop comparing yourself to other people Comparing ourselves to other people is a natural habit we have grown accustomed to, especially with the rise of social media. One person’s carefully curated and edited depiction of their life may not be their actual reality. It’s easy to forget that our only competition is ourself. We are completely different and unique individuals and how we live our lives with our own unique story and we shouldn’t compare our story with someone else’s.

Stop letting people or situations influence your mood or feelingsYou can’t change how people react in their own lives to certain situations but you can be mindful of how certain situations and other people’s reactions affect you. This goes back to being mindful and intentional everyday and focusing on the here and now.

Stop saying “yes” when you want to say “no”Finding your voice and learning to say what we want to say is very important in how we live our life. We want to be able to make wise decisions in order to move us toward our goals and to our purpose. We don’t want to take on too much in our life to the point of being overwhelmed and we can’t enjoy the things that truly make us happy and fulfilled. Knowing who we are and committing to our personal choices by saying “yes” to the things we want to do and saying “no” to the things we don’t is key in living our most intentional and fulfilled life.

Habits To Do

Be patient with others and yourselfPracticing patience is really hard for me…I’m naturally and genetically an un-patient person. Besides being a worry-wort, lack of patience is the other part of me that makes me want to strive for this un-fussy way of living my life. Reminding myself to cut myself and others some slack when it comes to certain situations is something I work on everyday.

“Let It Go!”Let go of negative thoughts and situations. You can’t change the past but you can change how things affect you going forward.

Celebrate small winsIf you’re on a long journey to a certain goal, then don’t wait to celebrate small accomplishments toward that goal. Treating ourselves or others and acknowledgement for smaller successes will attract more accomplishments and successes!

An affirmation is a declaration that something exists or is true. Positive daily affirmations are a great tool to power through negative thoughts and emotions. Practicing daily affirmations is a great way to put our minds at ease by creating a strong, positive statement that we tell ourselves “everything is ok”, despite the worry and negative thoughts that flood our minds daily. By doing this we are replacing our negative thoughts with positive ones and taking back control of our worries and anxieties.

I have created a list of un-fussy daily affirmations that I think are a powerful statement for anyone who is striving to live a more simple, calm, more intentional, focused, fuss-free way of life…Enjoy!